By Rodney L. Pry

Did you know that over 70% of all new persons who come into the church come because they were invited by a friend or family member? If you are looking for ways to help your Sunday school or Sunday school class grow, this is an important fact to keep in mind. It means that very few people are just going to walk in. Very few people will come because of your special events and activities. And, yes, very few people will come because of your pastor. The majority of the people who will come to your church and Sunday school will come at the invitation of a friend or family member. With these thoughts in mind, here are a few ways to help your Sunday school grow:

1. Plan For Growth. Have the members of your Sunday school class discuss why people should go to Sunday school. More specifically, why should they come to your Sunday school and to your Sunday school class? Make plans as to how you can approach the task of growth. Are there changes that need to be made in your Sunday school or class to make it more effective and more open to growth?

2. List Your Prospects. Have the members of your class ever taken the time to think about the persons that they know that they might invite to Sunday school? Have each class member write the name or names of the persons they would like to invite on a piece of paper. Encourage each member to make a commitment to invite these persons and to pray for each person on their list each day.

3. Be Specific. As a part of your preparation for your class growth effort, you will probably want to talk about specific ways of talking about Sunday school and ways to invite others to come to Sunday school. Think of ways that the class members can support each other as they invite others and additional resources that are available to help them talk to their friends and how to invite them to Sunday school. Using role-play to help members"practice" their witness might be a good idea.

4. Don’t Become Discouraged. Don’t let your class members become discouraged if they just ask one or two persons to come to Sunday school and are turned down. There are two things they should keep in mind. First, as any good salesman can tell you, you probably won’t make the sale the first time you talk to a potential customer. Don’t just talk to the persons you want to invite once and then let it drop. Take appropriate opportunities to share your love for Christ and your love of Sunday school with them. Second, don’t limit the number of persons you plan to invite to just one or two. You may have to invite five, ten or more persons just get one to say "yes."

5. Welcome Visitors. When new persons come to your Sunday school class, be sure that they are welcomed into your class with open arms. Make them feel welcome and get them involved in the class without singling them out in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable.

6. Support Your Growth Efforts With Prayer. Only God can give the growth, but we can certainly support our growth efforts with the power of prayer. Pray for growth and for the leading of the Holy Spirit as you endeavor to make your Sunday school more effective in its work of Christian education.

(This article appeared in the "Spring, 1992" issue of "The Herald.")